Dear Mr. Gold:

Is there anywhere to get that great Burmese fermented-tea-leaf salad in Los Angeles? I read about one place in Whittier. Anywhere else?

David Ury, Los Angeles

Dear Mr. Ury:

Lap ped thoke, the famous salad made with Burmese tea leaves that have been soaked in a cold, running stream, is indeed one of the great vegetable dishes of the world, pungent with dried shrimp, crunchy with browned soybeans, and dominated by the cheesy, winy taste of the pickled leaves themselves, which have the consistency of a mess o’ greens and the caffeinated kick of a Red Bull. A few places in the Los Angeles area feature the dish, including Yoma in Monterey Park, but by far the best is at the euphoniously named Golden Triangle, a couple of blocks from Whittier College. The ginger salad, the red bean–ginger patties and the Burmese-style biryani called dun buk htamin are not sad to eat either. 7011 S. Greenleaf Ave., Whittier, (562) 945-6778.

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